Campaign to build athletic scholarships

A major community campaign to recruit top student athletes to the university
will be officially launched March 13 at 7:30 a.m. at the Vancouver Convention
and Exhibition Centre.

Vancouver lawyer, UBC alumnus and Thunderbird Council chair Martin Zlotnik,
who brought the Air Canada Championship PGA Tour to Vancouver, will head the
campaign.

The goal of the 10-year, $6.3 million initiative is to dramatically increase
scholarship funding for student athletes.

"It's all about generating community spirit and greater support for varsity
athletics," says Zlotnik. "It's about getting our alumni and their families,
friends and neighbours to participate in amateur sport.

"We know we can achieve this by recruiting outstanding athletes, keeping them
here, and introducing a higher level of competition to varsity sport in B.C.,"
he adds.

UBC President Martha Piper is keynote speaker at the $200-per-plate kick-off
breakfast at the convention centre.

Net proceeds of the first annual breakfast, which is being generously supported
by TELUS, will be matched by the university and used to endow an athletic scholarship
fund.

The university has also committed to match proceeds from the event in 2001
and 2002.

"As highlighted in Trek 2000, we are committed to the principle of attracting
academically qualified students, regardless of financial ability," says UBC
Athletics and Recreation director Bob Philip. "We believe this should include
academically qualified students who also excel in sport."

"For the most part, the varsity program has been successful in doing that,"
he adds. "But this new initiative represents an opportunity for our alumni,
and the university and external community to be directly involved in taking
our past successes to a higher level."

The 11 Western Canadian member institutions of the Canadian Interuniversity
Athletic Union (CIAU) have lobbied unsuccessfully to have the CIAU alter its
restrictive policy on athletic scholarships.